AFTER a disappointing first week, Portland Wine got their season back on track with a hard fought victory over an improved Hindley team at the Rookery.

After losing the toss again, Portland were asked to bowl 1st on a good batting track, and though Hindley should be commended for this, they struggled early on against Van der Merwe and Cragg's peerless pace perfection. The South African continued his early season form with another 5 wicket performance, with Baker and Rimmer chipping in with 2 wickets each, finally reducing the away team to 139-5.

140 is normally a gettable target at the Rookery but early wickets meant the match was going to go to the wire. This it did, with 1 ball remaining, the winning runs coming from an overthrow, though mention should go to Cowey, Morris and Baker for making runs.

Next week sees the start of a 7 match away from home run, with a visit to probable title contenders Bretherton.